Centranthus ruber Jupiter’s beard, Red Valerian, Pretty Betsy Z 5-8

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• Myrica pensylvanica syn. Morella pensylvanica Wax myrtle, Northern bayberry SHRUB Z 3-6

  Green flowers in summer then, “conspicuous in winter when covered with its grayish white fruits which stay on the branches until spring.”  Bailey “The leaves turn a fine brown-purple in the fall, but the berries are the thing – pewter in color, with a texture like those Fourth of July sparklers of childhood memory, they have a delicious fragrance.” Allen Lacy.

  

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  Green flowers in summer then, “conspicuous in winter when covered with its grayish white fruits which stay on the branches until spring.”  Bailey “The leaves turn a fine brown-purple in the fall, but the berries are the thing – pewter in color, with a texture like those Fourth of July sparklers of childhood memory, they have a delicious fragrance.” Allen Lacy.

  Size: 9’ x 10’
  Care: sun in any soil
  Native: Canada to Southeastern U.S. No pruning needed but can be pruned at any time of year, if desired.
  Wildlife Value: Berries relished by chickadees, red-bellied woodpeckers, swallows, Titmouse, catbirds, bluebirds, Northern flicker & yellow-rumped warblers. Bayberry thickets also provide nesting sites for songbirds, offering excellent protection from predators.

  Probably 1^st collected for gardens by John Bartram (1699-1776).  Offered for sale in Bartram Garden’s 1783 Broadside, America’s 1^st plant catalog.  In 1800’s considered “very ornamental in the shrubbery.”  Fragrant leaves used for potpourri, abundant berries used to make candles.  Good road-side plant, salt tolerant.  Berries used to make candles.  Boil berries (drupes) to melt wax coating.  Collect wax from surface of water.   In American Medicinal Plants Charles F. Millspaugh noted that “Candles made from this wax, though quite brittle, are less greasy in warm weather, of fine appearance, slightly aromatic, and smokeless after snuffing, rendering them much more pleasant to use than those made of either wax (paraffin) or tallow (animal fat).” 1892.

• Helleborus niger Christmas rose, Black hellebore Z 5-8 POISON

  Outfacing, white, waxy cup-shaped flowers resembling single roses in late winter, evergreen leaves.

  

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  Outfacing, white, waxy cup-shaped flowers resembling single roses in late winter, evergreen leaves.

  Size: 12-20” x 12”
  Care: part shade in moist well-drained soil
  Native: rocky places in Europe
  Awards: Received Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.

  The name Helleborus is Greek from hellein meaning “to kill” and bora meaning “food” referring to the plant’s poisonous qualities if placed in food.  This species is ancient – known as long ago as 300 BC in Greece where it “purged and cured the mad or melancholicke daughters of Praetus with the roots thereof.” (Parkinson, 1629) Grown in the Eichstätt Garden, the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, c. 1600.  In Middle Ages petals thrown on floor to drive out evil and ward off power of witches. English herbalist John Gerard (1545-1612) strangely recommended it for curing poisoned animals. Sorcerers made themselves invisible by tossing the powdered plant in the air.

• Amsonia hubrichtii Thread leaf amsonia, Arkansas amsonia Z 5-8

  Powder-blue flowers in early summer; feathery foliage turns caution-sign yellow in fall.

  

  $13.25/bareroot

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  Powder-blue flowers in early summer; feathery foliage turns caution-sign yellow in fall.

  Size: 2-3’ x 2-3’
  Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
  Native: Central-So, US
  Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies & bees
  Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit; Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal; and Mount Cuba Center, botanic garden in Delaware, trialed several Amsonias and gave this its highest rating.

  Collected in 1940 in Yell County Arkansas along a stream 3 miles west of Birta.

• Silene dioica Red Campion Z 5-8

  Dark pink-purple flowers from late spring to mid-summer

  

  $13.25/bareroot

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  Dark pink-purple flowers from late spring to mid-summer

  Size: 32” x 18”
  Care: full sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
  Native: Europe
  Wildlife Value: a favorite of Bumblebees

  In Greek mythology Silene was a companion of Bacchus who was covered with foam. Dioicus means that male and female plants are separate. Described by 1750’s.  Grown in American gardens since 1800’s